Look, the holidays are upon on us and it is the season of giving gifts to each other. No escaping that trip to the mall, or is there? Time to admit to yourself that some of the stuff you will receive during the holidays will be sheer junk. Right? But I am here to steer you or your well-intentioned Aunt Margie in the right direction.

You are a photographer or you are trying your hand at off-camera flash and you have no clue where to start. I have been there and totally get you. Without Zack Arias' One Light Workshop and One Light DVD I know I would have been lost. That was the first step I chose to take. The next step was to immerse myself into David Hobby's well known site, Strobist. I suggest you check it out as well.

The transition from Zack to David was a smooth one as they both preach shooting in manual mode. But when you pay $500 for a SB-900, you want it to jump through hoops for you when you want it to. To learn how to do that, one simply need to look no further than Joe McNally. TTL is like putty in his hands and I was determined to find out how he used his lights.

Wel, lucky me, in 2011 I heard that David Hobby and Joe McNally were getting on a bus and hitting a bunch of cities. While they didn't stop in Hartford, thanks to Jeffrey Snyder and Adorama, I was able to get a ticket to their Boston presentation. It was an all day event and they rocked the house with great useful information that I was excited to put to use right away.

Would you like to know what they demonstrated? Would you like to see how they each took a challenging lighting situation and solved it in front of a house full of other photographers (no pressure, eh, David and Joe?)

I am told by Jeffrey and his colleague at Adorama, Joel Meisels, that when they are gone, they are GONE. So, are you going to procrastinate or take action? It really comes down to how serious you are about elevating your game.

Full disclosure: If you buy the DVD mentioned above, using the links in this post, I earn a small commission that helps support this website.

As I mentioned a few days back, I had the honor of meeting both David Hobby and Joe McNally during their Flash Bus stop in Boston. Thanks to Adorama – The Photography People, I was able to interview them both. If you haven't seen the interview with David Hobby yet, please check it out now.

If you have any of his books or you have attended Joe McNally's presentations in the past, please comment below.

Please thank Adorama again for making this interview possible. When they say they are the “Photography People,” I know they mean it. One way you can help Tiffinbox and yourself is by ordering all your photographic gear through them. Heck, if they are the go-to-store for Joe McNally's professional needs, why not for you?

Most of you probably already know who David Hobby is. He is a photographer, teacher and founder of the Strobist Movement, which encourages photographers to use their flashes off-of their cameras. His website Strobist is the go-to place to learn about off-camera flash techniques. His new project is HOCO360 – A Visual Journal of Howard County, Maryland, where he lives.

When David and Joe McNally decided to embark on The Flash Bus tour through the United States, I had to go. Boston was the closest of locations for me and so on April 9, I drove up to listen and watch two masters at work at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf.

Both David and Joe graciously allowed me to speak with them for a few minutes. In this post, we hear from David. He talks about creating a community and his new project.

All of this was arranged by Jeffrey Snyder of Adorama. So I am very grateful to him and the company that is truly there for photographers worldwide. Adorama is where I buy all my camera gear. Customer service is great and the price is right.

Watch the video and post your comments!

The Flash Bus tour wraps up soon, with most of the cities already sold out. The presentation in Boston was house-full. These guys not only know their stuff, they also know how to entertain. The repartees between them kept us all laughing out loud often. Now, if you can't make it any of their last remaining presentations, please consider buying David's Lighting In Layers DVD and Joe's The Language of Light. You will get a sense of what it is like to be in the audience from these excellent resources. I bought them and will have a full on review here soon. [Both are affiliate links. Support this site, buy through the links please!]